A British government agency has claimed that the nation's garbage is an untapped gold mine that's potentially worth over $4.5 billion. The Local Government Association's (LGA) review on Britain's waste disposal, 'Wealth from Waste', says local governments could earn billions by 2020 to provide better services to residents. The study outlines how the scheme could additionally create over 50,000 jobs by expanding the household recycling sector. LGA executive Clyde Loakes said: "There is clearly wealth in waste. The UK's waste and recycling sector is currently worth around £11 billion and growing at twice the rate of the rest of the economy, but there is so much more we could do to make the most of this booming industry."

The UK produces over 26 million tonnes of rubbish every year. The LGA is urging the country to fully exploit a resource that currently ends up in landfills. The report reads: "Taxpayers will be better off, the economy will benefit, and more people will have jobs if we grow our domestic market for collecting, sorting and reprocessing recycling. Landfilling waste costs a lot of money; burning it is still expensive; recycling actually brings in cash for the taxpayer and we owe it to today's hard-pressed taxpayers to get as much of their money back as possible." It adds: "There is wealth in waste. It is time to take the lid off the dustbin debate and raise the sights of government…from the kerbside to the global economic race."

5. THROWN AWAY: Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the things you hate throwing away at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

old mobile phones

love letters

furniture

food

books

presents

childhood mementoes

clothes

6. WASTE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'waste'. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

Britain's government said people accidentally throw away a lot of gold.

T / F

b.

An extra 50,000+ jobs could be created in Britain's recycling sector.

T / F

c.

Britain's recycling sector is valued at over £11 billion.

T / F

d.

The rest of the UK economy is growing faster than the recycling sector.

T / F

e.

Over 26 million tonnes of waste is produced in the UK each month.

T / F

f.

Landfills in Britain are very cheap.

T / F

g.

An agency suggested it was a duty to repay taxpayers from waste.

T / F

h.

The agency said Britain needed to be globally competitive with waste.

T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.

claimed

a.

make the most of

2

potentially

b.

field

3.

outlines

c.

local

4.

sector

d.

stated

5.

booming

e.

troubled

6.

urging

f.

thriving

7.

exploit

g.

summarises

8.

domestic

h.

aims

9.

hard-pressed

i.

likely

10.

sights

j.

pressing

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.

an untapped

a.

exploit a resource

2

waste

b.

of this booming industry

3.

the scheme could additionally create

c.

taxpayers

4.

growing at

d.

up in landfills

5.

make the most

e.

for the taxpayer

6.

fully

f.

twice the rate

7.

ends

g.

gold mine

8.

brings in cash

h.

off the dustbin

9.

hard-pressed

i.

disposal

10.

take the lid

j.

over 50,000 jobs

GAP FILL

A British government agency has (1) ____________ that the nation's garbage is an untapped gold mine that's potentially (2) ____________ over $4.5 billion. The Local Government Association's (LGA) review on Britain's waste (3) ____________, 'Wealth from Waste', says local governments could earn billions by 2020 to provide better services to (4) ____________. The study outlines how the scheme could additionally create over 50,000 jobs by expanding the household recycling (5) ____________. LGA executive Clyde Loakes said: "There is (6) ____________ wealth in waste. The UK's waste and recycling sector is currently worth around £11 billion and growing at twice the (7) ____________ of the rest of the economy, but there is so much more we could do to make the most of this (8) ____________ industry."

sectorratedisposalboomingclaimedclearlyworthresidents

The UK produces over 26 million tonnes of rubbish every year. The LGA is (9) ____________ the country to fully exploit a resource that currently (10) ____________ up in landfills. The report reads: "Taxpayers will be better off, the economy will (11) ____________, and more people will have jobs if we grow our domestic market for collecting, (12) ____________ and reprocessing recycling. Landfilling waste costs a lot of money; burning it is still expensive; recycling actually (13) ____________ in cash for the taxpayer and we (14) ____________ it to today's hard-pressed taxpayers to get as much of their money back as possible." It adds: "There is wealth in waste. It is time to take the lid off the dustbin (15) ____________ and raise the sights of government…from the kerbside to the global economic (16) ____________."

sortingdebateendsoweraceurgingbenefitbrings

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)

A British government agency has claimed that the nation's garbage is an ______

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

A British government agency has (1) ________________________ garbage is an untapped gold mine (2) ________________________ $4.5 billion. The Local Government Association's (LGA) review on Britain's waste disposal, 'Wealth from Waste', says local governments (3) ______________________ provide better services to residents. The study outlines how the scheme (4) ________________________ 50,000 jobs by expanding the household recycling sector. LGA executive Clyde Loakes said: "There is clearly wealth in waste. The UK's waste (5) ________________________ currently worth around £11 billion and growing at twice the rate of the rest of the economy, but there is so much more we could do (6) ________________________ this booming industry."

The UK produces over 26 million tonnes of rubbish every year. The LGA is urging the country (7) ________________________ resource that currently ends up in landfills. The report reads: "Taxpayers will be better off, the economy will benefit, and more people will (8) _______________________ domestic market (9) ___________________________ reprocessing recycling. Landfilling waste costs a lot of money; burning it is still expensive; recycling (10) ________________________ the taxpayer and we owe it to today's (11) ________________________ get as much of their money back as possible." It adds: "There is wealth in waste. It is time to take the lid off the dustbin debate (12) ________________________ government…from the kerbside to the global economic race."

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.

How did a government agency describe Britain's garbage?

2.

How much could the rubbish be worth?

3.

What is the name of the report?

4.

How could more jobs be created?

5.

How fast is the UK's waste sector growing?

6.

Where does most of Britain's waste go to?

7.

Who will be better off if waste is better recycled?

8.

What two things aren't cheap?

9.

What duty does the report say governments have?

10.

How high does the report say the government should aim?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.

How did a government agency describe Britain's garbage?

6.

Where does most of Britain's waste go to?

a) as an eyesore
b) as an untapped gold mine
c) they said it was disgusting and foul-
smelling
d) like a dirty coal mine

a) by investing in landfills
b) by buying more garbage collection
trucks
c) by expanding the household
recycling sector
d) by producing more trash

a) to repay taxpayers
b) to hide ugly garbage
c) to put the garbage in landfills
d) to tax waste

5.

How fast is the UK's waste sector growing?

10.

How high does the report say the government should aim?

a) at breakneck speed
b) twice as fast as the rest of the
economy
c) at a snail's pace
d) in tandem with other sectors

a) 326.8 metres
b) globally
c) sky high
d) out of this world

ROLE PLAY

Role A – Landfill company boss

You think landfill is the best solution to deal with waste. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their solutions. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): incinerating (burning), recycling or exporting the waste.

Role B – Incinerator company boss

You think incinerating (burning) is the best solution to deal with waste. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their solutions. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): landfill, recycling or exporting the waste.

Role C – Recycling company boss

You think recycling is the best solution to deal with waste. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their solutions. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): incinerating (burning), landfill or exporting the waste.

Role D – Waste-exporting company boss

You think exporting the waste is the best solution to deal with waste. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them things that are wrong with their solutions. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): incinerating (burning), recycling or landfill.

MULTIPLE CHOICE - LANGUAGE

A British government agency has claimed that the nation's garbage is an (1) ____ gold mine that's potentially worth over $4.5 billion. The Local Government Association's (LGA) review (2) ____ Britain's waste disposal, 'Wealth from Waste', says local governments could (3) ____ billions by 2020 to provide better services to residents. The study outlines how the scheme could additionally create over 50,000 jobs by expanding the (4) ____ recycling sector. LGA executive Clyde Loakes said: "There is (5) ____ wealth in waste. The UK's waste and recycling sector is currently worth around £11 billion and growing at twice the rate of the rest of the economy, but there is so much more we could do to make the most of this (6) ____ industry."

The UK produces over 26 million tonnes of rubbish every year. The LGA is (7) ____ the country to fully exploit a resource that currently (8) ____ up in landfills. The report reads: "Taxpayers will be better (9) ____, the economy will benefit, and more people will have jobs if we grow our domestic market for collecting, sorting and reprocessing recycling. Landfilling waste costs a lot of money; burning it is still expensive; recycling actually (10) ____ in cash for the taxpayer and we owe it to today's (11) ____-pressed taxpayers to get as much of their money back as possible." It adds: "There is wealth in waste. It is time to take the lid off the dustbin debate and raise the (12) ____ of government…from the kerbside to the global economic race."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.

(a)

unstoppable

(b)

intrepid

(c)

untapped

(d)

interpreted

2.

(a)

on

(b)

in

(c)

of

(d)

as

3.

(a)

earn

(b)

learn

(c)

yearn

(d)

urn

4.

(a)

household

(b)

freehold

(c)

housed

(d)

withhold

5.

(a)

clarity

(b)

clearly

(c)

cleared

(d)

clears

6.

(a)

boosting

(b)

booting

(c)

booking

(d)

booming

7.

(a)

urged

(b)

urge

(c)

urging

(d)

urges

8.

(a)

starts

(b)

closes

(c)

lasts

(d)

ends

9.

(a)

off

(b)

up

(c)

in

(d)

by

10.

(a)

brings

(b)

does

(c)

closes

(d)

requests

11.

(a)

stress

(b)

hard

(c)

poor

(d)

broke

12.

(a)

sightings

(b)

sites

(c)

sights

(d)

stings

SPELLING

Paragraph 1

1.

nallpittyeo worth over $4.5 billion

2.

waste lasisdpo

3.

provide better services to essdetirn

4.

the mehsec

5.

recycling ceostr

6.

make the most of this mgbiono industry

Paragraph 2

7.

gungri the country

8.

fully oxtliep a resource

9.

sorting and gsropecnreis

10.

hadr-rseesdp taxpayers

11.

the dustbin beadte

12.

raise the thssig of government

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )

waste. The UK's waste and recycling sector is currently worth around £11 billion and growing at twice the rate of the rest

( 1 )

A British government agency has claimed that the nation's garbage is an untapped gold

( )

off the dustbin debate and raise the sights of government…from the kerbside to the global economic race."

( )

The UK produces over 26 million tonnes of rubbish every year. The LGA is urging the country to fully

exploit a resource that currently ends up in landfills. The report reads: "Taxpayers will be better off, the economy will

( )

and reprocessing recycling. Landfilling waste costs a lot of money; burning it is still expensive; recycling actually brings

( )

disposal, 'Wealth from Waste', says local governments could earn billions by 2020 to provide better

( )

services to residents. The study outlines how the scheme could additionally create over 50,000 jobs by

( )

of the economy, but there is so much more we could do to make the most of this booming industry."

( )

back as possible." It adds: "There is wealth in waste. It is time to take the lid

( )

benefit, and more people will have jobs if we grow our domestic market for collecting, sorting

( )

in cash for the taxpayer and we owe it to today's hard-pressed taxpayers to get as much of their money

( )

mine that's potentially worth over $4.5 billion. The Local Government Association's (LGA) review on Britain's waste

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.

mine is an The untapped nation's gold garbage.

2.

could governments Local 2020 by billions earn.

3.

by Additionally jobs over 50,000 expanding create ,.

4.

of rest the of rate the twice at Growing economy the.

5.

do more most to we So of make could much this the.

6.

ends landfills a currently in Exploit that up resource.

7.

taxpayer in cash Recycling for actually the brings.

8.

it hard taxpayers owe today's pressed We to -.

9.

back much money possible as their as Get of.

10.

to time is It debate dustbin the off lid the take.

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

A British government agency has calmed / claimed that the nation's garbage is an untapped gold / coal mine that's potentially worth / value over $4.5 billion. The Local Government Association's (LGA) review in / on Britain's waste disposal, 'Wealth from Waste', says local governments could urn / earn billions by 2020 to provide better services to residence / residents. The study outlines how the scheme could additionally / addition create over 50,000 jobs by expansion / expanding the household recycling sector. LGA executive Clyde Loakes said: "There is clearly wealth in wasting / waste. The UK's waste and recycling sector is currently worth around £11 billion and growing at twice the rate of the rest of the economy, but there is so much more we could do to make the most of this boozing / booming industry."

The UK produces over 26 million tonnes of rubbish every / all year. The LGA is urging the country to fully / full exploit a resource that currently starts / ends up in landfills. The report reads: "Taxpayers will be better off, the economy will benefit / beneficial, and more people will have jobs if we grow our domestic market for collecting, sorting and reprocessing / repossessing recycling. Landfilling waste costs a lot of money; burning it is still expensive; recycling actually brings out / in cash for the taxpayer and we due / owe it to today's hard-pressed / hardly-pressed taxpayers to get as much of their money back as possible." It adds: "There is wealth in waste. It is time to take the lid / lad off the dustbin debate and raise the sights / sites of government…from the kerbside to the global economic race."

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

a british government agency has claimed that the nation's garbage is an untapped gold mine that's potentially worth over $45 billion the local government association's (lga) review on britain's waste disposal 'wealth from waste' says local governments could earn billions by 2020 to provide better services to residents the study outlines how the scheme could additionally create over 50000 jobs by expanding the household recycling sector lga executive clyde loakes said "there is clearly wealth in waste the uk's waste and recycling sector is currently worth around £11 billion and growing at twice the rate of the rest of the economy but there is so much more we could do to make the most of this booming industry"

the uk produces over 26 million tonnes of rubbish every year the lga is urging the country to fully exploit a resource that currently ends up in landfills the report reads "taxpayers will be better off the economy will benefit and more people will have jobs if we grow our domestic market for collecting sorting and reprocessing recycling landfilling waste costs a lot of money burning it is still expensive recycling actually brings in cash for the taxpayer and we owe it to today's hard-pressed taxpayers to get as much of their money back as possible" it adds "there is wealth in waste it is time to take the lid off the dustbin debate and raise the sights of government…from the kerbside to the global economic race"

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about making money from garbage. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. GARBAGE: Make a poster about garbage and its uses. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. WASTE IS WEALTH: Write a magazine article about making money from waste. Include imaginary interviews with people who have done it.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to a waste expert. Ask him/her three questions about garbage. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to better exploit this untapped resource. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

F

b

T

c

T

d

F

e

F

f

F

g

T

h

T

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.

claimed

a.

stated

2

potentially

b.

likely

3.

outlines

c.

summarises

4.

sector

d.

field

5.

booming

e.

thriving

6.

urging

f.

pressing

7.

exploit

g.

make the most of

8.

domestic

h.

local

9.

hard-pressed

i.

troubled

10.

sights

j.

aims

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.

As an untapped gold mine

2.

Over $4.5 billion

3.

'Wealth from Waste'

4.

By expanding the household recycling sector

5.

Twice the rate of the rest of the economy

6.

Landfills

7.

Taxpayers

8.

Landfilling and burning waste

9.

To get money back to taxpayers

10.

Globally - the global economic race

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

b

2.

d

3.

a

4.

c

5.

b

6.

c

7.

d

8.

a

9.

a

10.

b

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)